(a) Technical Field
The present invention relates to au automatic tire transfer apparatus using a traverser. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automatic tire transfer apparatus using a traverser which can transfer a tire to a position of a tire loader without causing the apparatus to be damaged due to an impact during the transfer.
(b) Background Art
As shown in FIG. 1, in an assembly process of a complete vehicle, a conventional tire carrying-out apparatus for the automatic transfer of a tire to an assembly position includes a vertical lift 10 and a chain guide 12 adapted to lift and lower a tire from a tire storage place; a tire charge section 18 having an inclined bracket 14 mounted at the bottom thereof and a guide roller 16 mounted at the front and rear sides thereof so as to rollingly guide the tire in the progress direction of the tire; a tire loader 24 having an inclined rail 20 mounted at a discharge portion side of the tire charge section 18 in such a fashion as to be disposed adjacent to the inclined bracket 14 and a seesaw stopper 22 mounted to restrain the advance of the tire; and a turntable 26 mounted at an outlet side of the tire loader 24 so as to feed the tire to an assembly position.
The conventional tire carrying-out apparatus is operated as follows. First, a tire assembly is seated on the inclined bracket 14 of the tire charge section 18 from a tire storage place by means of the chain guide 12. Then, an individual tire seated on the inclined bracket 14 is automatically rolled down along the guide roller 16 of the tire loader 24 toward the turntable 26 by means of the rolling guide operation of the guide roller 16. In this case, the tire is in a state of being positioned on the inclined rail 20 and simultaneously being temporarily stopped by means of a clamping operation of the seesaw stopper 22, i.e., in a state of being loaded on the tire loader 24.
Subsequently, when a signal indicating that the loading of the tire on the tire loader 24 has been completed is applied to a controller, the clamping operation of the seesaw stopper is released by a control signal from the controller. As the clamping operation of the seesaw stopper is released, the tire is moved to the turntable 26 such that it is transferred to a tire assembly position for the post-process.
However, such a conventional tire carrying-out apparatus entails problems in that when the tire is automatically discharged from the tire charge section and is fed to the inclined rail of the tire loader, the seesaw stopper is damaged due to an impact upon the feed of the tire, thereby resulting in a suspension of the operation of an assembly line for the sake of the replacement of the damaged seesaw stopper. In addition, when the tire is seated on the inclined bracket of the tire charge section or is automatically discharged from the tire charge section to the inclined rail of the tire loader, the guide roller is damaged due to an impact when the tire collides against the guide roller, thereby leading to a deterioration of an assembly line operating ratio due to the replacement of the damaged guide roller.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art that is already known to a person skilled in that art.